


2287: Commonwealth Blues

by a__squared



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Depression, F/M, Flashbacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-02-23 14:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a__squared/pseuds/a__squared
Summary: Naomi didn't factor nuclear warfare into her life plans, but it happened anyway. As far as she knew, her life as she knew it was over. The place she knew, the people she loved, everything... Gone. Her old life comes back to her in flashes and she doesn't know how to cope with it. But there's one thing in the new world that is keeping her alive: finding Shaun. After that, she has no plan. No use for plans when the world is over.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. Emergence.

Naomi cringed as she heard the knock on the door. That damn Vault-Tec representative wouldn’t leave them alone and she wasn’t sure she wanted to buy into what they were selling. The end of the world? Oh, the dramatics. Her husband, Nate, had fought in the war and had seen so much. He always reassured her that Vault-Tec was just trying to scare people. “Why don’t you just answer?” Nate called. “Maybe he’ll stop if we listen to him.”

“Why don’t you answer it?” Naomi smirked.

Just then, Shaun started crying. “Because it sounds like our son needs a little fatherly love.” 

“Yeah, you got lucky.” She muttered as she opened the front door. 

“Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!” The man in the hat and trench coat smiled almost unnervingly wide.

“Mornin’.”

“You can’t believe how happy I am to finally speak with you! I’ve been trying for days! It’s a matter of most utmost urgency, I assure you.”

“Okay?” Naomi shifted her weight onto one leg and crossed her arms.

“I’m here today to tell you that because of your family’s service to our country, you have been pre-selected for entrance into the local Vault, Vault 111!” He shook his hands with a flourish.

She rolled her eyes. “Sounds great…”

“Oh, it is. Believe you me.” The representative clearly didn’t pick up on her irritated tone. “Now, you’re already cleared for entrance, in the unforeseen event of,” he cleared his throat, “total atomic annihilation. I just need to verify some information.”

Naomi entertained the rep’s attention until all of the ‘logistics’ had been settled. “Is that all?”

He finally seemed to pick up on her irritation. “That’s… everything… Just gonna walk this over to the Vault! Congratulations for being prepared for the future!”

“Whatever.” Naomi all but slammed the door in his face. “I hope I never have to see that man again.”

Nate had taken a seat at the kitchen island in the middle of her conversation with the rep. He let out a low chuckle. “Hey, it’s peace of mind. That’s worth a little paperwork, right?”

She smiled. “Anything for my boys.”

From down the hall, Shaun started to cry again. “Miss Naomi!” Codsworth called.

“I’m on it, Codsworth!” She strolled down the hallway to the nursery. “What’s the matter, Shaun?” She picked him up and held him close to her. “Momma’s here, everything’s fine.” She bounced him lightly and he started to calm. She didn’t know how tough caring for a newborn would be when her and Nate fell pregnant, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Her life was perfect. “See? Nothing to be sad about.”

“Nothing like a mother’s love, huh?” Naomi turned around to see Nate leaning against the door frame. “Listen, I was thinking tonight we could head to the park with Shaun and stargaze? Tonight is supposed to be the peak of a meteor shower and I know how much you love watching the stars.”

“Sounds great.”

“Sir? Mum?” Codsworth’s worried voice carried from the living room. “You should come and see this!”

The two of them hurried, Shaun now in Nate’s arms, to the living room to see the newscaster delivering solemn news. “I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania.”

“Oh my gosh.” Nate exhaled.

“This is not happening.” Naomi whimpered. Was this real? She hoped and prayed that it was just a nightmare. That she'd wake up and carry on with her day, taking the trip to the park to watch the stars Nate had proposed..

But the newscaster put his face in his hands and the TV suddenly cut to static. “We need to get the Vault. Now!” Nate placed his hand on Naomi’s lower back and ushered her out of the house. They ran past their neighbors, whom they have only exchanged pleasantries with. She wondered how many of them were allowed in the Vault with them, she hoped it was all of them. They hurried up the hill, ignoring their burning calves, and saw just how many people were standing on their side of the gates. Were they letting anyone in? “We need to get in! We’re on the list!” Their family was quickly confirmed and were led to a large gear shaped door on the ground.

Naomi took a second to calm down. They had made it. They were the last one’s to be let in before they decided to send it down. “Do you think there will be enough time for them to get another group of people?”

“I hope so.” Nate sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “We made it. We’re going to be okay. I love you. Both of you.”

“We love you too.” Then there was a flash of blinding light, followed by a near-deafening boom. Everyone turned to see a larger than life mushroom cloud erupting high into the sky.

“SEND IT DOWN, NOW!” An officer bellowed. Time slowed for Naomi. She looked to her husband and her infant son. Would they make it down in time? Was this the last she would ever see of them? She launched herself forward and embraced the two of them, her face already streaked with tears. A gust of hot air from the explosion hit them full force and they braced themselves for the worst as the world went black.

“We made it…” Nate finally spoke as light broke into the elevator. 

A man, whose title was the Overseer, gave them an empathetic but hopeful smile. “No need to worry, folks! We’ll get everyone situated in your new home. Vault 111! A better future. Underground!”

“What kind of life can we live underground?” Someone asked.

“It’s better than the alternative.” Nate said.

“What about the others?” Naomi wiped her wet face and tried to take a clarifying breath.

“Please, make your way upstairs!” A Vault-Tec security man shouted.

The people seemed to walk around numbly, unwilling to accept that this was their life now, living underground like moles. They accepted their Vault suits and walked down a long metal hallway. “Everything feels so… Sterile.” Naomi shivered. “Clinical. Is the rest of the Vault more… Inviting?” She asked one of the doctors.

He dodged the question. He motions to a pod large enough for an adult. “Just step in here and put your Vault suit on.” Naomi hesitated but once she saw Nate putting his on, she followed. “The pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head deeper in the Vault. Just relax.” The pod closed around her and hissed, she suddenly felt claustrophobic. The air started to feel chilly which she thought was part of the process. But then the window started to ice over, and before she could react, her heart slowed and she fell asleep.

Naomi woke up coughing, she heard a loud voice that sounded like someone was yelling in her ear. Her vision was blurred and her appendages were numb as hell. “All Vault residents must vacate immediately.” The voice said. Naomi banged on the pod door and it slid open causing her to stumble out onto the ground. She groaned and flexed her fingers until she was able to push herself up. She looked up and saw Nate’s pod was still closed. She crawled to the control panel and pushed every single button. Why hadn’t his opened yet? Why hadn’t anyone else’s? “Malfunction in Cryo Pod manual release overdrive.” She pulled herself up and looked into his pod. The sight sent her back to her knees. It hadn’t been a dream…

“I’M NOT GIVING YOU SHAUN!” Nate screamed as a masked figure tried to yank the infant out of his arms.

BANG.

Naomi’s heart sunk to her feet. A man walked up to her pod and looked at her with satisfaction. “At least we still have the backup.”  
He was dead… He was actually dead… And Shaun was gone. The two most important people in her life were just… Gone. What was she supposed to do now? She wanted to give up. She curled up on the floor and sobbed until no more tears came.

Nate and Naomi met back before he served in the war. Naomi was going to college and Nate was touring her college with the other hopeful applicants. She had volunteered to be one of the guides for the high school seniors, and Nate was in her group. She told them all of the boring academic stuff, but once all of that was out of the way, she gave them the real ins and outs of the campus: where to get the best burger, where the best place to study was, and which sorority threw the best parties. At the end of the day, Nate was so smitten with her. Naomi… Not so much. He was still a high schooler, she thought it was weird. The following school year, they ran into each other in one of their classes. He seemed different to her, more mature somehow even though it was only half a year since she saw him last.

Nate had been taken by surprise when Naomi was the one who made the first move, but he was the one who planned the first date. He had read an article once about people’s ideal dates and he was desperate to try one. He took her to a cliff that overlooked the ocean right before sunset and brought a picnic. They watched the sun go down and paint the sky, then they laid down on a blanket and gazed at the stars. Nate couldn’t tell which stars were brighter, the ones in the sky or the ones in Naomi’s eyes.

Now he was gone. They both were. After she calmed her breath, she opened her eyes with determination. She stood up and took Nate’s ring off of his finger. “I’ll find out who did this and I’ll get Shaun back. I promise.”

When Naomi finally made it out of the Vault, and the light of the sun had burned her eyes, she was rendered speechless. Her home- everything- destroyed. Nothing looked the same. But she only had one thought in mind: where was Shaun? She clenched her fists and growled. “I will not rest until I find you, Shaun. Even if it kills me.” Naomi unequipped the 10mm she found in the Vault and headed on the path where her and Nate had run for their lives before… She saw multiple skeletons and she thought of reasons why they died. Maybe they didn’t make it to the Vault in time. Maybe they weren’t allowed in at all. And whose decision was it to determine who were and were not allowed in the Vault? Her blood boiled while her heart ached for those who died. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted that Vault-Tec rep.

“As I live and breathe…” A familiar voice rang. Naomi looked in front of her old house and saw Codsworth hanging around, a little worse for wear but still in functioning condition. “It’s… It’s really YOU!”

“Codsworth! You’re still here!”

“Of course I’m still here!”

“Is anyone else here?” Naomi desperately looked around for any sort of life form, hopefully not one of those giant cockroaches again.

“Oh mum, it’s been just horrible! Two centuries with no one to talk to, with no one to serve!”

“Two… centuries?” Had she heard that right?

“I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood! Nothing!”

“Codsworth?”

“And don’t get me started about the futility of dusting a collapsed house.”

“Hey.”

“And the car! The car! How do you polish rust?”

“CODSWORTH!” The robot finally stopped babbling and looked at Naomi. “What do you mean ‘two centuries’? Was I really… Gone that long?”

“Everyone’s been gone that long, mum. Where’s sir and the lad? I assume they are with you.”

Naomi couldn’t stop herself from welling up. “They’re gone, Codsworth…” She took a deep breath and let the tears fall freely. “Shaun was kidnapped and Nate was… He was shot. They killed him. I want to find Shaun but I don’t know where to start. God only knows where he could be right now.”

“What about the city? Concord is nearby.”

“It’s as good a start as any. Assuming that you’ve checked around here recently?”

“Believe me, mum, if they were here I would know.”

“Yeah… Thanks for keeping down the fort, Codsworth.”

“Stay safe, mum.”

Naomi remembered when she and Nate got Codsworth. Naomi insisted that they didn’t need a Mr. Handy, that they could take care of the house by themselves. But they just learned that Naomi was pregnant, so Nate would not give up until she agreed an extra hand - or many appendages - would be nice around the house once the baby came. He always told Naomi that since they had someone else to take care of the chores around the house, it gave him the opportunity to make her his top priority. And now… He was gone. She took one last look at her old house, and made her way to Concord.

Naomi wiped the blood off of her face. The world after the bombs really was different. First, it was giant bugs. Next, it was giant lizards? Did she go back in time to the dinosaurs? Naomi climbed out of the power armor and tried to catch her breath. If she hadn’t been wearing the armor, she would have been squished like one of those big bugs. The stray dog that she came across at the gas station near her old house trotted up to her and nudged her arm. “How are you, boy?” She lifted her arm to pet him but searing pain came from her shoulder. “Don’t happen to have a stimpack, do you boy?” He ran over to one of the raider’s bodies and sniffed around their waist. He quickly came back with a stimpack in his mouth. “Well, aren’t you smart?” She shoved the needle into her body and waited as the pain melted away, then she gave the dog a proper pet. “Good boy.” She glanced up at the old Museum of Freedom. “Guess I should go back in to see Preston?” The dog’s tail wagged furiously and he sprinted towards the doors. Naomi made her way through the destroyed museum until she got to the room where Preston and what he called ‘The Minutemen’ were holed up in. “How is everyone?” She asked.  
Preston gave her a brilliant smile. “Great, thanks to you! That was quite a display.”

“It was… Definitely the most interesting thing I’ve ever done in my life. Though, I’m not sure that’s going to be the only time I’ll be saying that nowadays. Hell, I’m still getting used to people saying pre-war.”

“You said you were frozen in the Vault?” Preston asked.

“That’s right. Over two hundred years ago, apparently. My Mr. Handy told me earlier today.”

“Can’t believe they would do that. Wasn’t Vault-Tec supposed to be the good guys?”

“That’s what we thought… Now my husband’s dead and my son is missing.”

“I’m so sorry…” Preston nervously adjusted his hat.

“You’re a woman out of time.” The old woman named Mama Murphy said. “Out of hope. But all’s not lost. I can feel your son’s energy. He’s alive.”

“Where is my son?” Naomi’s gun fell out of her hand and she dropped in front of Mama Murphy. “Where is Shaun??”

“Oh… I wish I knew, kid. But he’s out there, and I don’t need the Sight to tell me where you should start looking. The great, green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond City. The biggest settlement around.”

“Diamond City?” Naomi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Fenway Park? The baseball stadium?”

“That’s the one. If you’d like, I can accompany you there, show you the way.”

“I knew this city like the back of my hand back in the day.” She got to her feet and picked up her gun. “And if I can fight one of those…” She gestured largely. “Huge lizards.”

“Deathclaws.”

“Deathclaws, right. Then I can face whatever might be in the city, right? Besides, your people need you right now.”

“If anyone can do it, it would be you. I would suggest wearing the power armor until you get more settled.” Preston gave her a package of minigun ammo. “And watch out for super mutants. Giant, green, ugly creatures. They’re dangerous. But Diamond City Security should have everything under control.” He smiled warmly. “Make sure to come and see us at Sanctuary Hills. The Minutemen could use someone like you.”

Naomi chuckled. “I’ll think about it.” She adjusted the armor she took from the raiders and made her way out, and Dogmeat never left her side.

Nate held up a onesie with little green dinosaurs on it. “Come on, love, wouldn’t this be perfect for his first outfit?”

Naomi shifted uncomfortably on their bed, caressing her swollen belly. “Honey, I know you’re trying to lighten the mood, but I have never been more uncomfortable in my life.”

He walked over to her, kneeled down, and took her hands in his. “I know, but soon it’ll all be over, and our little boy will be here with us.” He kissed her hands. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling, but I want to do anything I can to help you through this. You’re strong, you’ve got this.”

Naomi smiled and took the dinosaur onesie in her hands. “This one’s perfect.”

The sun slowly started to set as she made the long trek to Diamond City, and seeing her city in the state it was… It broke her heart. She and Dogmeat came across a couple of bugs eating a dead cow with two heads. So strange. The real fear set in when she got into the city. Those dead people could be around any corner, too many places to hide. She clutched her gun and kept it close to her body. She was close to the river now, and she hoped that at least one bridge was still intact.

The Pip-Boy on her wrist crackled to life, a frequency started cutting in and out. “Nine. Five… sustained casualties… running low on supplies… requesting supplies… Cambridge Police Station…”  
Every fiber in her being told her to ignore it, to stay focused on Diamond City. But the police station was more or less on her way. “I hope I don’t regret this.” Naomi thought. She picked up the pace and followed the roads to the station as she ignored her racing heart. If she hadn’t known her way there, the amount of gunshots that ricocheted through the alleys would have led her there. The old police station was boarded up and crawling with the dead.

“Check your fire, we’ve got hostiles!” A man’s voice rang. Naomi burst into a run and reloaded her gun, readying for whatever laid ahead. She shot several of the dead before she made it into the guarded area of the station. A man in power armor saw her and shouted. “Civilian in the perimeter! Check your fire!” But Naomi was handling her own. She took out the dead as if she had been doing this for months. It helped that they were incredibly predictable; they charge, then they fall. But she got overwhelmed. As soon as she took one out, she was tackled by two. Dogmeat ran to her aid and started tearing at one of their legs while Naomi shoved the barrel of her gun into the open mouth of the one on top of her and pulled the trigger. Soon, the area was quiet. And God, it smelled. She got on her hands and knees and retched at the smell. And the fact that she was covered in blood and brains. “We appreciate the assistance, civilian.” She looked up and found the man in power armor in front of her. “But what’s your business here?”

Naomi felt both intimidated and comforted by the man’s appearance. “I, uh…” She slowly stood up and brushed herself off. “I heard your distress signal on the radio. I figured I could come and help.”

“Are you from a local settlement?”

She looked down and studied what she was wearing: the stolen raider armor and her bright blue vault suit. No point in lying. “I came from Vault 111.”

“You’re a Vault Dweller?” He studied her before he continued. “Most people wouldn’t admit that.”

“Why not?”

“If you want to continue pitching in, we could use an extra gun on our side.” He said, ignoring her question.

“I don’t know… I was heading towards Diamond City. I’m looking for a missing person.”

“I wish you luck, then.” The man curtly turned around and headed inside.

“I’m sorry about him.” A woman said. “Things have been tough on us. We’ve lost a man and our supplies are low, though I assume you gathered that from the radio signal.” She quickly glanced at the wounded man on the ground before she continued. “I’m Scribe Haylen. That’s Knight Rhys over there, and the man in the power armor is Paladin Danse. We’re with the Brotherhood of Steel.”

“Brotherhood of Steel?”

“Ah, right. I overheard you telling Paladin Danse you were a Vault Dweller. Long story short, we’re like the military.” She rummaged through one of the pouches on her harness. “It’s not much, but here.” She placed a small pouch in Naomi’s hand.

She opened the pack, curious as to the light clinking noise it made. “Bottle caps?”

“It’s the currency nowadays. That pre-war paper money is useless now.” The woman patted Naomi on the arm. “Well, good luck. Diamond City isn’t much farther.”

The door to the detective agency closed loudly behind Naomi and she groaned loudly. She made it all the way to Diamond City, and when she felt like she was put on the right track, that she found someone who could actually help her find Shaun, the detective himself was missing. She knew finding her son would be hard, but she underestimated just how hard it would be in this new world. "You okay, Blue?"

Naomi turned around and saw Piper making her way down the alley. "Blue?"

"You know, blue Vault Suit?" Piper chuckled lightly. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"Nick Valentine is missing and it seems almost impossible to find my son… I'm not even sure he's alive. Or how old he is…" Naomi leaned on the wall and sighed. "Am I in over my head, Piper?"

"Look, I know I don't know you at all, but I see a fire in you. You're passionate. I can tell you're a damn good mother and you will not stop until you find your son." Naomi smiled, feeling a little more confident. "It's going to be hard, but I believe in you. And if you need help, don't be afraid to ask. Hell, I could help now if you want. Who knows what's waiting in the Vault."

"You don't even know me and you're willing to risk your life to come with me?"

"You might have gathered now, but the Institute is the Commonwealth's biggest boogeyman. People have gone missing, replaced by synths, and now a child is involved. I'm sick and tired of seeing people afraid and paranoid that their family might be synths. I'm sick of not getting answers. I feel like if I help you find your son, maybe I can get some answers."

"Well, having some extra fire support wouldn't hurt."

"Awesome. Mind if we head to my office first? I wanna tell my sister I'll be gone." They walked to Publick Occurrences and Naomi was shocked by how similar Piper and Nat seemed.

Nate wanted several kids. He wanted a full family. Naomi was not as eager. She was excited to have a child in her life but it never even crossed her mind to have more than one. She figured she would have one kid and spoil them rotten. When Naomi was pregnant, Nate hadn't really bothered her about having more kids, he was just excited to have one on the way. Once Shaun was born, he was absolutely obsessed. The woman he loved created something so perfect, how could he not want more? Naomi said they were both biased. Nate was an only child, whereas Naomi had an older sister that relentlessly teased and messed with her when they were growing up. "What if he gets lonely?" Nate asked.

Naomi shifted Shaun as he fed. "Love, he has both of us, and no doubt he'll make many friends when he's older. I don't think he'll get lonely."

"At least think about it? I would love it if Shaun had a sibling."

"I'll think about it, but no promises."

Nat and Piper had the same attitude as each other. Despite seeing some irritation from Nat's end, they seemed to have a shared love and a deep connection. When they left the office and were out of Diamond City, Naomi made a quizzical noise. "Are you close with your sister?"

"She's all I have left. If I lost her, I don't know what I would do."

"I'm not sure I would want to bring a child into this world." Naomi turned her gaze to the ground.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Knowing that my child is out there in this world? It's terrifying. If I'm having trouble adjusting, I can't imagine what he's going through. I couldn't even begin to imagine how I would feel if Nate and I had two children lost in this world."

"Nate is the dad?"

"Nate is… Was… My husband."

"What happened to him?"

"They killed him."

"The Institute?"

Naomi kicked a rock out of frustration. "I don't know. Whoever it was had the ability to override the controls in the Vault to open the pods we were in, which makes me think it was Vault-Tec."

"We'll find out, and we'll find your son."

"First, we have to find Nick."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. New Beginnings.

"Tell me everything you can, no matter how… painful it might be." Nick Valentine lit a cigarette and gave his full attention to Naomi.

She picked the skin on her fingers and held back tears. "I'm looking for my son, Shaun. He's less than a year old." She paused, unable to stop a tear from falling. "Why would anyone take him?"

"And why your family in particular? Why an infant?" He jotted down a couple of things. "What else?"

"We came from Vault 111. We were let in before the bombs fell, my family was. My husband…" She choked out a sob. "He refused to give them Shaun… So… they… shot him…"

"So we're talking about a group of cold-hearted killers. Can you tell me anything? What they looked like? Sounded like?"

"The woman wore a hazmat suit, she was the one who opened the pod… the other man… bald head, scar across his left eye…" Everything in the room faded away as Naomi thought back on what exactly happened.

"Come here… come here, baby." The suited woman cooed.

"No, wait. No, I've got him!" Nate struggled against the woman as he held Shaun as close to his body as he could.

The bald man raised a gun to Nate. "Let the boy go. I'm only going to tell you once."

"I'M NOT GIVING YOU SHAUN!"

BANG.

Nate slumped in the pod and the suited woman took Shaun from his lifeless arms. "Goddammit!" The bald man shouted. "Get the boy out of here and let's go." Naomi pounded on the walls of her pod, desperate to open it. The man walked up to her, looked her up and down, and gave a slight smirk. "At least we still have the backup."

"Cryogenic sequence reinitialized." The robotic voice spoke as Naomi's surroundings got cold once again. She kept pounding on the walls until she no longer had the energy to move. She gave up and slipped into unconsciousness.

When Naomi came to, she was hunched over in her chair, visibly shaking, as Piper rubbed her back. "Blue? You okay?"

Naomi took several shaky breaths while Dogmeat nudged her hand, a sad look on his face. "I'll never forget that voice. Rough and low. Like sandpaper across your face."

"You didn't hear the name 'Kellogg' at all, did you?"

"I… I don't know… all I hear is… the gunshot…"

"It's way too big of a coincidence. Ellie, what notes do we have about the Kellogg case?"

"The description matches. Bald head. Scar. Reputation for dangerous mercenary work. But no one knows who his employer is."

"And he bought a house here in town, right? And he had a kid with him, didn't he?"

"That's him! That-that has to be the man who took Shaun! Where's his house??" Naomi was on her feet in an instant.

"In the abandoned West Stands. The boy with him was about ten years old."

"But… Shaun's not ten."

"Maybe it's another kidnapped kid?' Piper asked.

“Perhaps. Problem is, they both vanished a while back. The house is still there…” Nick snuffed out his cigarette and stood up. “Let’s you and I take a walk over to Kellogg’s last known address. See if we can snoop out where he went.”

Piper put her hand on Naomi’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to go to the Mayor’s office.”

The three of them headed back out into the alley, Piper going one way, Nick and Naomi going towards the abandoned part of Diamond City. “I didn’t want Ellie to hear this, but I think you should know.” He glanced back, his yellow eyes almost seeing through her soul. “Everything I dug up about Kellogg before his disappearance is bad news. He’s more than just a mercenary. He’s a professional. Quick, clean, thorough. Has no enemies, because they’re all dead.” He stopped walking until Naomi caught up with him. “Except you.”

“Why me…” She asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.

“Leading a small team to kidnap a baby, and leaving one of the parents alive for later? Not many mercs in the Commonwealth can pull that off.”

“Has he done something like this before?”

“Not that I know of.” They stop in front of a rusted facade. “Here we are. Keep an eye out, will ya? Let’s see if I can get this open.” While Nick crouched down to pick the lock, Naomi looked out at the old baseball field. It looked so different now.

Nate was being dragged along by Naomi through the crowds at Fenway Park. “Come on! The concessions stands are going to get too crowded and we’re going to miss the first pitch!” They reached one of the stands, only fourth in line, and Naomi jumped around with giddiness. “I can’t believe it! Sox versus Yankees! I’m actually going to see the game in person!”

“I didn’t know you were such a huge baseball fan.” Nate laughed. Seeing her excitement warmed his heart.

“Come on, I’m from Boston! This is a big deal! It’s the game that everyone waits all year for!” Naomi ordered a few classics like popcorn and a pretzel, and they started towards their seats. “I’m really glad you’re here with me, Nate.”

He smiled and admired her. She continued to surprise him. When they first met back at the college, he was almost certain she didn’t like him. He was just some starry eyed high school senior and she had to show thirty other people his age around the campus. And not many of them were mature. “I’m glad I’m here with you, too.”

The game was intense, neck-and-neck the whole time, and everyone’s voices were rasp from cheering and shouting. Naomi at one point had taken Nate’s hat and put it on backwards, then stood on the seat to get a better look. “Come on!” She shouted, her voice cracking. “Don’t let these Yankee bastards win!” The batter took to the mound, readied himself, and swung at the ball, but it went flying into the stands. “Oh my gosh!” Naomi shifted her weight on each foot and then jumped. The ball hit her hand hard, sending pins and needles down to her wrist. She landed on the edge of her seat and started to tumble until Nate acted quickly and caught her in his arms.

“You okay, Naomi?”

She laughed. “I caught it!” She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

“You see that platform in the distance?”

Naomi shook her head, and she was back in the Commonwealth. “Huh?”

“Near the city entrance? That’s the elevator to the Mayor’s office. Why don’t you go ask around there?” He looked back at the lock and sighed. “I’ll stay here with Dogmeat, and see if I can jimmy this lock.”

Now, Naomi had never feared elevators. Until now. The elevator to the Mayor’s office was more rickety than she ever thought possible. She laughed nervously. Of all the things to kill her in this new world, it would be kind of embarrassing if an elevator took her out. When the platform extended to one of the old boxes, Naomi saw Piper in there arguing with a blonde woman. “Why doesn’t the mayor come out of his office, huh? He afraid of talking to the press? I bet if I said I was with the Institute, he’d come running…”

The woman smirked. Naomi could obviously tell the woman had some power, and man was she enjoying holding it above Piper. “You ever think maybe you could get a man’s attention easier if you used softer words, honey? Maybe shout a little less?”

“Ah,” Naomi spoke up as she hopped off the platform. “Because all that really matters in this world is the attention from a man, right?”

Piper grinned, happy to have backup. “No, that’s okay. Besides, that reminds me of this article I’m writing about the mayor’s affair with a certain air-headed, blonde…”

“If you’re done crowding the reception area, Miss Piper, the Mayor needs to make time for more… responsible citizens.”

She scrunched her nose. “I was just leaving anyway.” Piper stopped by Naomi and whispered in her ear. “Good luck with McDonough. Just watch yourself around him, okay?”

The woman at the desk rolled her eyes. “Did you need help?” She asked Naomi.

“I need to get into Kellogg’s old house. Are the keys here?”

“Sorry, but I can’t just give out keys to anybody who asks for them. Have a nice day.”

Naomi cursed under her breath. Now what? The small bag of caps that Scribe Haylen gave her weighed heavy on her hip. She looked around and discretely plucked it off her hip and placed it on the desk. “How about now?”

The woman looked up at Naomi with a devious smile. “Oh, would you look at that! I seemed to have left these keys on my desk! I hope they’re still there when I get back.” She gave Naomi a wink and swiped the bag of caps off of the desk.

After another white-knuckled ride on the elevator, she jingled the keys when she got back to Nick. “All right. Let’s head in. You do the honors.”

The home was heartbreakingly empty. Naomi knew no one had been in there for a long time, but it still hit hard to see it so empty. She didn’t even see any hints that a child had been there. They searched and searched the house, until finally Naomi found a button hidden under Kellogg’s desk. They found a store room full of food and water, and a chair next to a side table. “Gwinnett Stout Beer. Forty-four caliber bullets… And cigars. ‘San Francisco Sunlights’.” Naomi looked to Nick. “Nothing. Unless you can think of something we can do with these things.”

“What about Dogmeat?” They looked at the dog while he sat patiently with his tongue lolling and tail wagging. “A Commonwealth mutt like him can track a man’s scent for miles.” Nick picked up one of the cigars and held it out to Dogmeat who sniffed it excitedly. “Let’s get that bastard.” He gave Naomi a good look. “This is your show from here on out, okay? You say jump, I’ll say how high.”

“If it isn’t my old friend, the frozen TV dinner.” Naomi could recognize that voice anywhere. “Last time we met, you were cozying up to the peas and apple cobbler.” Her vision clouded with red and her hands shook with fury. She flung the door in front of her open and ignored the electricity coming from the Tesla arc up above. She killed Institute synths left and right, her aim clearer than ever before. “Sorry your house has been a wreck for two hundred years. But I don’t need a roommate. Leave.”

“NEVER!” Naomi screamed, pushing ahead.

“Hmph. Never expected you to come knocking on my door. Gave you 50/50 odds making it to Diamond City. After that? Figured the Commonwealth would chew you up like jerky.”

“You monster!” She could barely see straight, tears blurred her sight as she continued to shoot at the synths.

“Look. You’re pissed off. I get it. I do. But whatever you hope to accomplish in here? It is not going to go your way.” Naomi pressed on. She was getting revenge, no matter what happened. “You’ve got guts and determination, and that’s admirable. But you are in over your head in ways you can’t possibly comprehend. It’s not too late. Stop. Turn around and leave. You have that option. Not a lot of people can say that.”

Naomi got to what seemed like a dead end. There was a door that had no handles on her side. “Let me in, damn you!!” She pounded on the door until her fists hurt.

“Naomi…” Nick tried to speak up, but Naomi wasn’t listening.

“Okay, you made it. I’m just up ahead. My synths are standing down. Let’s talk.” Once the door opened, she bolted up the stairs and into a large open room with some serious technology. The lights clicked on bit by bit like one of those abandoned warehouses you’d see in an apocalypse movie. “And there she is. The most resilient woman in the Commonwealth.” Kellogg looked the same as she last saw him, except this time he was surrounded by synths. “So here we are. Funny, huh?”

“Enough! Just… where is my baby?”

He chuckled. “Lady, I’m just a puppet like you. My stage is a little bigger, that’s all. Shaun’s a good kid. So maybe he’s not quite a ‘baby’ anymore. But he’s doing great. Only…” He licked his teeth. “He’s not here. He’s with the people pulling the strings.”

“Godamn it, you mercenary motherfucker!!” She put her gun to his head. “Where. Is. My. Son?!”

His synths readied their weapons, but he waved his hand. “What’s the cliche? ‘So close, yet so far away?’ That’s Shaun. But don’t worry. You’ll die knowing he’s safe, and happy. A bit older than you expected, but ah well. At least he’s in a loving home. In the Institute.”

Naomi’s gun wavered. The Institute? No… She steadied her hand. “So where is it? Huh? This ‘Institute’? How do I get there?”

“Haven’t you been paying attention? You don’t find the Institute. The Institute finds you. But I think we’ve been talking long enough. We both know how this has to end. So… you ready?”

“Oh. I’m ready. Question is - are you?” She ripped a grenade off of her waist, took the ring in between her teeth, and tossed it to Kellogg’s feet.

“Son of a bi-” The grenade blew. When the clouds dissipated, and all the synths had been taken care of, she walked to where Kellogg was. He was grunting and writhing in pain, his legs no longer attached to his body. “Just do it.” He bit. “Just kill me. But know this. What you want? You’re never going to get it.” Then Naomi pulled the trigger.

“Good job. That bastard won’t be hurting anyone else.” Nick said.

Naomi dropped to her knees. “That was for Nate.” She leaned over his body and saw parts of his brain sprawled across the ground. Something weird and mechanical caught her eye, though. “All this tech. You were barely human…”

When the service elevator took them to the roof, and they opened the door, they were met by a loud whirring and bright lights coming from the sky. They looked up and saw a huge airship with Vertiberds taking off from them. “People of the Commonwealth.” A voice boomed overhead. “Do not interfere. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel.”

After gawking at the airborne battleship, Nick wistfully spoke. “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing.”

Naomi cocked an eyebrow at Nick. “Edgar Allan Poe?”

“Flying that ship into the heart of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, the Brotherhood’s here to start a war.”

“You can’t possibly be thinking about joining those meatheads!” Piper exclaimed.

Naomi fastened the belt around her waist, making sure that her pistol was sitting in there real snug. “I’m looking at all my options, okay? I’ll see what the big deal is with those power suits and the huge warship.”

“I don’t know, Blue. I feel like you could do a lot better. Maybe the Minutemen?”

“Piper, you’ll have to trust me.” She grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder. “You’ve seen that thing in the sky, there’s no doubt in my mind they have the technology to help me find the Institute. To find Shaun.”

“I guess I can see where you’re coming from. So, how do you plan on joining them?”

“I’m sure it’s not as easy as walking up to one of them and saying ‘I want to be in the Brotherhood of Steel’. I’ll have to prove myself.”

“Well, good luck with those beefcakes.” Piper wiggled her fingers and headed back to Publick Occurrences.

It wasn’t long after Naomi got to the police station that her and Paladin Danse headed off on her first mission. “ArcJet is a short hike to the west. If we take this road, we should be able to avoid the larger packs of ferals infesting Cambridge.” His pounding footsteps shook the ground as they jogged. “Traveling this far from the police station is a risk, but getting that transmitter up and running needs to be our top priority. If it was up to me, I’d relocate my team, but Scribe Haylen detected some disturbing energy readings in the area that need to be investigated. 

“What’s causing the energy readings?” Naomi asked as she avoided a corpse on the road.

“We don’t know much about them, except that they’re short-lived and broadcast on a frequency only obtainable with a high level of technology.”

“And I’m guessing that type of technology is not at your disposal…” She stopped for a second to catch her breath, but the Paladin kept his pace. “Why investigate it? What if some serious danger lies ahead?”

“We’re concerned that whoever or whatever is creating those energy readings might be a potential threat, so it’s our job to investigate.”

Naomi looked ahead of them and saw a group of raiders under a bridge. She tried to whisper as loud as she could. “Paladin! Ahead!”

“Hostiles!” He shouted and started shooting. Subtlety was out of the question, she guessed.

“Gah! My arm!” One of the raiders clutched their bleeding arm. They raised their good arm to shoot, but Paladin Danse landed a shot right in the middle of their forehead.

“Hostiles eliminated.”

Naomi reloaded her gun and wiped off the droplets of blood. “Hey Paladin, what’s with the formal way of speaking?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You speak like you’re being interviewed for a job. You don’t have to talk that way all the time.”

“Stay focused on the mission, Initiate.”

“Initiate?”

Paladin Danse shook his head. “Nothing. We’re almost there. I hope you can follow directions well, Citizen, or else you could get killed.” They didn’t talk anymore until they got to ArcJet. She was about to walk in through the front door when Paladin Danse held out his arm to stop her. “Listen up. We do this clean and quiet. No heroics and by the book. Understood?”

“Understood, Paladin.”

“Stay focused and check your fire. I don’t want to be hit by stray bullets.” Naomi huffed, annoyed by the way he was acting, but followed him inside. The place was a disaster compared to the few places she’s been to. The other place that was like this was where Kellogg was hiding out. There was a staircase that had collapsed and ceiling tiles on the floor. There was almost no piece of metal in the building that wasn’t rusted over. Paladin Danse broke her attention away from the ruins. “It was corporations like this that put the final nail in the coffin for mankind. They exploited technology for their own gains, pocketing the cash and ignoring the damage they’d done.”

“Oh, I’m very familiar with the greed of capitalism. The government was responsible for its own downfall…” They headed into a room to find several protectrons destroyed. She knelt down and inspected one of them. “Such clean destruction.”

“Look at the evidence. There isn’t a single spent ammunition casing or drop of blood in sight.” His hands clenched into fists. “These robots were assaulted by Institute synths.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “Where are they…?”

“They could be anywhere. We don’t know how many of them there are, so keep a lookout, Citizen.” They kept walking through the building, guns at the ready, until they hit a dead end. “See if you can find a way to get that door open. I’m going to recon-” Before he could finish his sentence, Naomi had already hacked through the terminal. “Huh. Good work.”

“Synths!” She shouted, shooting around the Paladin’s torso. At least five synths made their way through the newly opened door and flashes of red filled the room. “Paladin! Behind you!” He spun around to see a synth with a shock baton raised in the air, ready to strike. Naomi thought on her feet and sprung into action as she tackled the synth. It struck her in the side with the baton and she let out a grunt. While she was vulnerable, the synth pinned her down and struck her again on the face. Suddenly, its head exploded into several mechanical parts, revealing Paladin Danse with his gun pointed where its head used to be. “Thanks.” Naomi said breathlessly.

He hoisted her up off the ground. “Thank you, citizen, for your quick thinking. Let’s continue.” They worked through the building, destroying any synth that came across them. Naomi was new to this combat thing, but she thought that they were working very well together. They’ve taken minimal damage between the both of them and they were still well stocked on ammo. They walked through a doorway into a room with a large machine at the top with a metal staircase leading down. “Careful, citizen. These platforms don’t look very stable. The transmitter should be in the control room at the top of the core but it looks like the elevators are dead. We’ll have to keep heading down for now and find a way to get the facility’s power back online.”

Then, Paladin Danse vaults himself over the railing. “Paladin!!” Naomi rushed to the edge to see him land safely on the ground, albeit his impact made a resounding noise. “Well that’s one way to get down there…” She walked down the stairs, like a normal person, and stood next to him. “How do you know that didn’t attract a bunch of synths here?”

“Just find a way to get the power on, I’ll keep watch.”

She rolled her eyes but headed through a hole in the wall, which led her to a computer. “This is a good place to start, I suppose.” She bent over and woke the terminal up. “Locked. Shit.”

Even though it had nothing to do with her major, Naomi found herself drawn to a Computer Science class. Even though technology was ever present in people’s everyday lives, she still thought it was a good idea to learn the ins-and-outs of how they worked. When she walked into the lecture hall it was… Overwhelmingly male. She sat down at one of the only open seats left and readied her laptop. “Hi.” She turned to her right to see a young man with a brilliant smile.

“Hi.” She said.

“I’m majoring in Computer Programming. What are you majoring in?”

“I’m majoring in Law.”

“This isn’t a required class for that, is it?”

“No, I just thought it would be neat.”

“Well I wish you luck. Not everyone can succeed in the Computer Science field especially if it’s not your intended major.”

Naomi scoffed. “I think I’ll do just fine.”

“I’m sure you will!” He said, turning his attention forward.

Naomi felt a tap on her shoulder, and despite already being irritated with human interactions, she turned around. “Ignore him.” A woman behind her leaned forward and whispered. “You’d think humanity would have advanced far enough to overcome the stigma that only men go into the STEM fields.”

Naomi smirked. “You think some of them still believe that a woman’s place is in the kitchen?”

“Oh, no doubt.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Charlie.”

“Hey, Charlie. I’m Naomi.” She shook her hand. “Tell me, fellow woman, what’s your purpose of taking this class?”

“I wanna learn how to hack shit.”

“I…” She hadn’t expected an answer like that. “R-really? Why?”

Charlie shrugged. “Cause it would be cool to do. Remind me to show you how to pick a lock someday, might save your life.”

Naomi successfully unlocked the terminal and turned on the auxiliary power. The closer she got back to the room Danse was in, the more she heard gunshots and grunts of pain. She hurried her pace and found him fighting off more than a dozen synths, with more on the way. “Do something!” He shouted. “Anything!”

She frantically looked between Danse and a control panel. “That’s too many to fight off…” She muttered to herself. “They just keep coming…” She looked down and saw a large red button, and underneath it said “Engine”. Panicked, she pressed the button and a countdown began. And the doors to her left shut. “No…” She ran over to it and tried to pry it open. No luck. She looked back through the window as the countdown reached its end. A stream of heat exploded from the engine, setting everything in there ablaze, including Paladin Danse. “No!” She watched in horror as he knelt to the ground, his power armor slowly beginning to glow from heat. A primal scream came from within him and his breath seemed labored. Had she just killed him?? Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, the engine shut off and the doors opened. She sprinted to Danse, skidding to her knees next to him, ignoring the searing hot floor. “Ohmigod! Are you all right??” She almost put her hand on his shoulder, but yanked her hand back when she felt the heat radiating off of his armor. “I shouldn’t have done that! It was so stupid, I could have killed you! I wasn’t thinking, I-”

He held up his hand. “Got cooked by those flames, but… thanks to my power armor I’m still in one piece.” He staggered to his feet. “The important thing is that we’re still alive… and we have a way to get that transmitter. Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Grievances.

Naomi felt extremely vulnerable, though this wasn’t the first time she found herself in a strange place where she knew no one. She was tasked with meeting people on the Prydwen, and to familiarize herself with the layout of the ship. She walked into a large room where multiple power armor stations and found a woman wearing a bare set of power armor. “So, you’re the new recruit that I heard about. Hm… not what I was expecting.”

“Oh.” Naomi scratched the back of her neck, not sure how to respond to that. “What were you expecting?” 

“The last batch of recruits we took on were wastelanders… dirty, beaten up and looking for a handout. They were desperate and looking for an easy out. You look like you’re here for a reason.”

“I’m looking for my son. He’s apparently with the Institute, and I need to find a way there.”

“The Institute, eh?” She shook her head. “Anyway, since you came down here to meet me, we might as well get it over with. My name’s Ingram and this lovely little grease pit is where you’ll usually find me.”

“Nice to meet you, Ingram. My name’s Naomi.”

“Welcome to the Brotherhood, Naomi. If your power armor’s too tight in the crotch, the Prydwen’s about to crash into the ground or a robot’s gone haywire, you come see me. Your power armor is in Bay 3. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” 

Naomi set out to meet the next person who was pretty much locked behind impressive metal bars. Looking inside the room, the man who stood at the window laughed. “Step forward, Knight… even though they’ve locked me in this blasted cage, I promise that I won’t bite.”

“Looks kind of uncomfortable in there.”

He shrugged. “It’s not that bad. This is the stowage depot, and I… as you probably already guessed… am the ship’s quartermaster, Proctor Teagan.” He waved around him ambiguously. “The powers that be have me locked in here so I can keep an eye on the Brotherhood’s valuables. If you need to stock up on supplies before you head out on a mission, this is the place to buy them.”

She nodded behind him. “I can see that. You’ve just got a Fat Man chilling back there?”

He laughed again. “Keep your pants on, Knight. Anyway, if you’re looking for extra caps, I might have some extra work for you to do.”

“Uh, what kind of extra work are you talking about?”

“Oh, no, no, no… it’s nothing like you’re thinking. I just need someone to do the legwork down at the farms for me. After you’re done with the meet and greet, we can discuss the details.”

Naomi headed back to the head of the Prydwen and walked into a room filled with boxes of papers and files, and a frazzled looking man with glasses. He didn’t look up at her. “Ah good, you’re finally here. Just set the books down anywhere. I’ll get to them as soon as I can.”

She looked around the room. “What are you doing with all of these books?”

He sighed. “I suppose I could stop working for a moment to address your question.”

“I guess it makes sense to get rid of the trash.”

“I’m pleased you agree.” He continued his work for several seconds before he spoke again. “Since it’s obvious since you’re not who I was expecting, would you mind telling me why you’re here?”

“Elder Maxson wanted me to meet the crew.”

“Ah. Yes… You must be the new recruit described in Paladin Danse’s report.” He looked her up and down and said nothing, clearly unimpressed. “As you patrol the Commonwealth, keep your eyes out for blueprints, memos, manuals, books, charts… anything containing useful technical data. In any event, it was a pleasure to meet you, Knight.” He gave her a half-assed salute and went back to his work.

She gladly left his office and went down to the last place she had to go. The medical office was not as sterile and uninviting as they used to be, but not any more comforting. The man in the room turned around when he heard her footsteps. “Glad you finally stopped by, soldier. Are you ready for your medical exam?”

“Uh… Sure.” She sat down in a chair and waited for whatever was about to happen.

“First question. As a child, were you ever exposed to radiation for an extended period of time?”

“There wasn’t much radiation around before the bombs fell.”

The man’s eyebrows raised. “Before the bombs? What? Let me check my notes…” He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. “You were a vault dweller?” Naomi nodded. “You’re probably healthier than anyone else aboard. Second question. Have you ever had or been in contact with a person confirmed to be carrying a communicable disease?”

“Not that I’m aware of, sir.”

“Okay. Third question… And please answer honestly.” He looked down at his clipboard again. “Have you ever had sexual relations with any species considered non-human?”

“I… Beg your pardon?” He stood there, waiting for her answer. “No.”

He nodded and wrote down her answer. “Final question. Would you have any problems pulling the trigger on an enemy of the Brotherhood whether they’re human, formerly human, or machine?”

“Only in the defense of myself and others.”

“I think I’ve got all the information I need. I see no reason to prevent you from beginning your duties immediately.”

“Thank you, sir.” She stood from the chair and left the room, and was almost tackled by someone. “Woah!” She put the person at arm’s length and saw that it was Scribe Haylen with a big smile. “Scribe Haylen! What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to be the first to congratulate you! I knew you were someone special when you came and helped us at the police station. How do you feel?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Maybe a nice big meal will help you feel more settled?” Haylen put her arm on Naomi’s shoulder and led her down to the mess hall. “Don’t worry, once you start going on missions and truly fighting for the Brotherhood, you’ll fit in just fine.”

“But Scribes don’t go out and fight, right?”

She sighed. “That’s right, but I’m still fighting for the Brotherhood in my own way! Science can be just as important as combat. Plus, sometimes Cade needs help patching people up.” They sat down at the bar and got a large plate of food. “Hey, I wanna apologize on Rhys’ behalf. He comes off as a prickly bastard at first, but he’s just been through a lot. He’s a real great guy once you get to know him.” Danse walked through the mess hall and made his way to the power armor stations. “Afternoon, Paladin.” He waved a hand at Haylen and continued on his way. “The same goes for Danse. He’s a great guy, fights for what’s right. But he’s lost a lot of people.” She grabbed her glass of water and looked at it for a moment. “He blames himself sometimes.”

“Why’s that?”

“I think maybe that’s something you ask him yourself. I’m not comfortable sharing something quite so personal without his permission.” Danse walked back through the hall, this time without his power armor.

“Woah.” Naomi watched as Danse headed towards the quarters. “He looks so… Human without all of that power armor.”

Haylen chuckled. “Seeing him without it is a rare sight. He’s not just some big metal man, he’s just a regular man.” After she finished her meal, Haylen stretched. “I’m going to do a little bit more work before I head to bed. I would suggest either talking to Danse some more or see if Elder Maxson has a mission for you.”

She weighed her options, then made the decision to talk to Danse. She found her way to his quarters and knocked on the door frame. “Paladin?”

“Hello, Knight. What can I do for you?”

Naomi stood awkwardly in the door. “I guess I was just looking for someone to talk to.”

He nodded. “Well, I can provide conversation for you, but we can’t stay up too late. We’ve got a big mission tomorrow, we’ve got to clear out a place that’s become filled with raiders.”

“Where is it?”

He hesitated. “Vault 111.”

Naomi’s blood ran cold. “Vault 111? But I only left there two weeks ago. How can it be filled with raiders now?”

“Word travels fast in the Commonwealth. It must have gotten out that the vault was still somewhat functional and they would be able to gain access to it.”

Naomi picked at the skin on her fingers. “I… Don’t think I can, Paladin.”

“And why not?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to head back to Vault 111. The trauma… It’s still too fresh.”

He took what she said into consideration. “While I would be more willing to let you stay behind, this mission is coming straight from Elder Maxson, and I don’t think he would approve of you missing out on your first mission, Knight.”

She bit her lip. “Okay. Have a good night, Paladin.”

Naomi sat on the vertibird, leg bouncing uncontrollably as they headed towards Vault 111. She knew she wasn’t ready to go back, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She looked to her right and saw Danse standing stoically in his power armor, ready for command. To her left, Haylen watched the Commonwealth below with awe. “I’m so excited I get to come along!”

“Not until after the premises is confirmed clear, Haylen.” Danse spoke.

She rolled her eyes. “Not allowed in the thick of battle, I’m too valuable.” Naomi chuckled when Haylen gave her a wink. “How are you feeling? This is your first mission.”

“Anxious.” Naomi looked down at her thumbs, which by then she had picked raw. “Nauseous?”

Haylen laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll do great. I believe in you.” The ‘bird landed near the door to the vault and Naomi and the other soldiers hopped off. “Stay safe, Knight.”

Naomi smiled, feeling she was becoming close with Haylen. “You too, Scribe.” The vault door screeched loudly as it lowered into the ground, and when the space around her went dark, she found herself back on that dreadful day.

“SEND IT DOWN! NOW!”

Naomi tore her eyes away from Nate and Shaun and watched as the bright mushroom cloud grew exponentially. It was like she was in a trance, finding the explosion sadly beautiful. The world she once knew was gone in an instant, and she realized that she took it all for granted. Her body was so overcome with panic, that she stood there, numb.

She thought of her neighbors whom she only conversed with a few times. She wished that she had gotten to know them, to do all of the archetypal things that neighbors do, like ask for sugar or an egg. She prayed that they would make it to safety on time, but she knew that was impossible, and within a matter of seconds, they would be dead. Perhaps she would be dead as well.

She thought of her family, who lived upstate, almost exactly where the bomb seemed to hit. She hoped it was a quick and painless death for them. She felt guilty as well. Her and her little family was allowed into a vault, but what of the rest of her family? Perhaps they made it into a vault as well. Her father had also served, surprisingly alongside Nate.

Nate. They had been dating before he was drafted. She suggested they marry before he head off, but he promised her he would return and they could have a proper one. It was when he was drafted that he met her father, and eventually received his blessing to marry his daughter.

And Shaun… While she would do anything to protect her son from any harm… What sort of life lay ahead in the vault for an infant? The hot air hit them and she embraced death.

But it never came.

“Knight, come on!” She heard Danse commanding. She came to, and she found herself leaning against the wall, a cold sweat breaking on her face.

“Sorry, Paladin.” Naomi steeled herself and readied her gun. She was definitely not ready to go back into the vault. The soldiers made their way through the first part of the vault, completely ignoring the skeletons that littered the ground. They disturbed Naomi just as much then as it did when she escaped the vault. She had seen these people. They died and she didn’t. She snapped out of it when the sound of gunshots rang through the halls. The first group of raiders had holed themselves in the cafeteria and got a few good shots on the soldiers. Naomi felt she could easily let the other soldiers ahead of her, let them do all the fighting, but she knew she was being watched and she needed to perform well if she wanted to stay in the Brotherhood. She managed to land a couple of headshots and only took a small shot to her chest piece before they continued. The closer they got to the pods, the slower she moved. Danse basically had to force her through the vault until they were sure it was clear.

She made a move to exit the vault for a breather, but Danse grabbed her shoulder. “Stay down here, Knight, and keep an eye out for any stragglers.” She watched him ascend in the elevator to retrieve the Scribes, and she took that moment to catch her breath. She begged her heart to stop racing, but it wouldn’t listen.

After several minutes, the elevator came back down with Halen in tow. “Hey, Naomi. Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’ll be okay, let’s just get in and get out. Where are we headed first?”

“Well, Paladin Danse said there wasn’t much to look at, but he wanted us to get a good look at the decontamination pods.”

“They’re not…”

“Knight,” Danse walked up to Naomi, “you will be accompanying Scribe Haylen to the pods. The other Scribes and I will scavenge for anything useful.”

“Sir, if I may-” but he had already walked off. “Okay… Let’s go…” They walked down the hall and it seemed like it stretched on forever. She stopped at the top of the stairs in the pod room. “I can keep watch here while you… Do whatever you need to…”

Haylen looked at each computer, each pod and its controls to see if there was anything she could learn from or take. Naomi kept her eyes down the hall. She pretended she wasn’t there, that they were in some other vault and that it was completely empty. That… That all the pods were… “Woah… There’s a body in this one.” Haylen looked to Naomi. “Come check this out.”

“N-no, I’m fine. Just… Hurry up.”

There was a moment of silence, and then- “Oh, shit!”

“Malfunction in Cryo Pod manual release override.” Naomi’s blood stilled, she whipped her head around to see Haylen lunging just in time to catch Nate’s body from the pod.

“Did the decontamination process kill him?” Haylen asked. Naomi walked towards her slowly. “Wait, Cryo Pod…” Tears littered Naomi’s cheeks making it look like she had just walked in the rain. “Was he frozen?” Haylen gently put him down on the ground and watched Naomi walk as if in a trance. “Knight…?” Naomi stood before Haylen and Nate, her tears falling down onto his body and freezing on impact. A glittering caught her eye and she looked down to Nate’s hand. His wedding ring.

That was the final straw. Naomi collapsed next to her husband’s corpse, flinging her arms around his body as she wailed. She screamed, she sobbed, her whole body shook as she clung to him, wishing that she would wake up from this horrible nightmare. “NATE!!!!!” Her throat burned as she squeezed him tighter. Why did he die? Why not her?

“Naomi?? What’s going on??” Haylen put her hands on Naomi’s shoulder, but she was too oblivious. “Paladin!!”

“Please Nate! WAKE UP!” She grabbed his hands and started rubbing them to bring heat to them. “You’re okay, you’re okay… Just a gunshot, you’ll survive… you just need to wake up…” She resorted to shaking his lifeless body. “Nate… Wake up, baby…”

“What’s going on in here?!” Danse shouted.

“I don’t know! She won’t tell me anything!” Haylen desperately tried to pry Naomi off of Nate, but she held on tighter.

“Knight!” He too attempted to take Naomi away, but she just screamed louder.

“NO! He’s got to be alive! HE CAN’T BE DEAD!!” Naomi felt herself being hoisted up off of the ground. “NOOO! LET ME GO!!” She thrashed against Danse’s grasp, but he had the upper hand with his power armor. “NATE!!!!”

The next couple of days felt unreal to Naomi. Like she wasn’t even living her life, just watching it from someone else’s point of view. Knight-Captain Cade watched over her for the rest of the night after they had returned from the vault. He suggested that she not go on any other missions for the time being until her mental state improved. The rest of the time, she kept herself locked in her quarters, passing the time by either sleeping or staring at the wall, wishing everything she had experienced was a figment of her imagination. The call from her pistol was tempting a few times… But Cade insisted that any and all items that could be used as a weapon should be taken out of her room.

Haylen checked on her from time to time and tried to get Naomi to eat. But nothing worked. Even Rhys peeked into her room. Naomi gave no response. The pain she felt was too great. She didn’t want to eat. She didn’t want to be here. She had lost the two most important people in her life. Why was she the one to survive? Why not Nate? Surely he’d be stronger than her…

There was a knock at her door… Or was there? Naomi was in a deep state of disassociation. “Knight?” When she didn’t respond, Paladin Danse let himself in. He took in her appearance: the bags under her eyes were exaggerated by the dark circles that were there. It almost looked like she had a broken nose. She seemed so frail. “Can we talk, Knight?” Naomi shrugged. “I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot when we first met and I feel like I owe you an apology. Expecting you to embrace the standards of the Brotherhood without having a history with us was unfair. And given that you’ve adjusted so well to our beliefs, I don’t think I needed to push so hard.” Naomi kept staring at the wall, so Danse took a seat at the opposite side of the room and continued. “When I was an Initiate, my sponsor was Paladin Krieg. Toughest squad leader I ever served with. He was a model soldier, embodying the values every trainee was striving to achieve. Fiercely loyal, secure in his beliefs and brave to a fault.

“From the moment I was assigned to his squad I was singled out… it felt like he was pushing me harder than the rest of the team. I fought by his side for years and we had some serious close calls, but he never explained to me why I was treated that way.” He waited for Naomi to respond, but it never came. He sighed, but pushed forward. “After I was promoted to Paladin and I had moved on to my own squad, I received word that Krieg was killed at Adams Air Force Base. The news was like being kicked in the stomach. I mean, I’d lost some of my brothers and sisters before, but his death… well, it really got to me.” Tears threatened to spill over as Naomi listened to Danse. “It’s taken me a long time to realize it, but the reason Krieg was so tough on me is the same reason I’m so tough on you. It’s because I believe in you and I don’t want to see any of your potential go to waste. He made his mark on history, and whether you choose to believe it or not, you have the potential to do the same.”

“Nate…”

“Pardon?”

Naomi sniffled. “Nate. That’s who that was.” She finally looked at Danse, her eyes and nose reddened and puffy. “The man in Vault 111. He… Was my husband.”

“Oh…”

“The Institute… They killed him and… and stole my son.” Her brows furrowed. “I would do anything to get my son back from those bastards I just…” She leaned forward and put her face in her hands. “I just don’t know if I’m strong enough.” She gasped a couple of times, trying to calm the tears that spilled. “How can someone wake up after surviving the dropping of the bombs to find everyone they’ve ever known is gone and the world they once knew was destroyed?”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through…” Danse stood up and held out his arm. “Maybe a breath of fresh air will help, even if it’s just the tiniest amount.”

Feeling oddly comforted, she reached out for his arm and let him lead her to the flight deck. He walked her to one of the parking bays for the ‘birds and helped her sit down behind the railing. She rested her chin on the bar and let out small hiccups. “Thank you, Danse…” They sat in silence for a while. She gazed down at the ocean while Danse studied her features. She tore her gaze from the sea to the sky and wiped a fresh tear from her eye.

“What’s going on in your mind, Knight?”

“I guess the old world isn’t completely gone…” She let a weak smile come across her face as she wistfully looked to the heavens. “The stars still look the same…”


End file.
